(June 26, 2002) -  Georgia Lenzmeier's teenage son wanted to be part of the hoopla at the opening of Spokane's first Krispy Kreme doughnut shop Tuesday.

The problem is that the Lenzmeiers live 110 miles away in Lewiston, Idaho.

So mother and son came to Spokane on Monday afternoon. While Joey Lenzmeier waited in line, his mother slept overnight in her car. When the doors to Krispy Kreme opened at 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, Georgia Lenzmeier was No. 2 in the drive-through line.

``I'm going for mom of the year,'' said Lenzmeier, who had to drive back to Lewiston Tuesday morning to work a full day. ``I'm 49 years old. My bones are telling me it's been a long time since I slept in a car.''

The Lenzmeiers were among more than 700 people who gathered in anticipation of the store's first warm doughnuts. Within two hours after opening, the store at Sullivan and Indiana sold 12,000 doughnuts.

``This is hilarious,'' said January Nelson, a housekeeper at Oxford Suites who came to buy doughnuts for a friend. ``I just can't understand the hype.''

While four off-duty Washington State Patrol troopers kept traffic moving outside the store, sugar-crazed doughnut fans kept the mood upbeat.

At times, the opening resembled a sporting event or concert. While Krispy Kreme employees conducted spirit cheers to pump themselves up for the onslaught, customers in snaking lines were herded through a tent stocked with Krispy Kreme T-shirts, toy trucks and coffee.

Avid Krispy Kreme fans like Steven Harris said skeptics don't understand the allure.

``I call them heroin doughnuts,'' said Harris, communications supervisor with MedStar.

Harris grew up in Greensboro, N.C., 30 miles from company headquarters in Winston-Salem. As a boy in the 1960s, Harris would run errands for the Krispy Kreme workers in exchange for doughnuts.

His MedStar co-workers razz him about his love for the doughnuts, but he swears they are the best.

The size of Tuesday's crowd didn't live up to expectations set in October when the state's first Krispy Kreme opened in Issaquah.

``Issaquah was mad,'' said Bob Reaudeau, who headed up security at both openings. ``This is busy.''

Carla Redington planned to skip the opening until she heard radio announcers say the line was down to 10 minutes.

Maria Buck, an accounting consultant who bought 26 dozen doughnuts to deliver to her clients, said she also expected a bigger crowd.

But the numbers didn't seem to disappoint store owner Gerard Centioli, who said his experienced crew was better prepared for the initial rush than in Issaquah.

``What matters is the constant flow,'' he said. ``This compares very favorably to Issaquah.''

Centioli is president and chief executive officer of Icon LLC, parent company of KremeWorks, which has exclusive rights to Krispy Kreme in Washington, Oregon, Hawaii, Alaska and British Columbia.

Centioli said he plans to build 30 Krispy Kremes in the next five years, eight of which will be in Washington. The state's next Krispy Kreme will be in north Seattle.

He put his second store in Spokane because he likes the Lilac City and hopes to attract North Idaho and Spokane customers to the Valley location.

Val Pearson drove from Coeur d'Alene with her two daughters for the opening. They've had a morning doughnut tradition that dates back 20 years.

``If you get out of bed in the morning,'' Pearson said, ``you get a hot doughnut.''

This sidebar appeared with the story:

FAT FACTS

Calorie count

Each Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut contains 12grams of fat, 13 grams of sugar and 210 calories, according to Business Week. In the first two hours of business Tuesday, the Spokane Krispy Kreme sold approximately 12,000 doughnuts, which breaks down to 144,000 grams (315 pounds) of fat and 2. 5 million calories.